B/R Community Mock Draft: Chicago Bears' Fourth-Round Pick Is...

B/R Community Mock Draft: Chicago Bears' Fourth-Round Pick Is...

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The B/R Community Mock Draft enters the fourth round.

What is the B/R Community Mock Draft? It is a live, real-time mock draft where a different Featured Columnist plays the role of mock GM for their team. I'm the mock GM for the Bears. The draft order is the exact same order as the NFL draft order—right down to the compensatory picks in the middle rounds.

Thus, this mock draft is more realistic than other mocks in that it actually involves 32 different mock GMs trying to draft and trade their way through draft day against other mock GMs to fill the needs of their favorite teams as best as they think it can be done.

If you're just joining us, you can catch up on the Bears' perspective of this Community Mock Draft with these links:

Technically, the fourth-round kicks off the final day of the NFL draft. In theory, almost all the stars are gone by now and teams tend to use these picks to add depth and special teams guys to their squads rather than find starters.

However, maybe I'm just optimistic, or maybe I think differently than most—or maybe both—but I think some true gems can still be found with these "final day" picks.

Let's get to work.

The Game Plan

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So far, we've got DE, WR and LB in the draft.

As mentioned in the wrap-up article for our third pick, my war room partner Bob Warja isn't interested in any of the remaining offensive left tackles on the board since he projects all of them to either convert to guard or right tackle.

Since we're not looking at OT for the fourth round either, then we have three other options to consider.

Amazingly, receivers Marvin McNutt and Juron Criner are still available. QB Brandon Weeden is a tremendous value here also, though the Bears already signed Jason Campbell. TE Ladarius Green, receiver Nick Toon and LB Josh Kaddu are also still on the board.

CBs DeQuan Menzie and Ryan Steed are available. Safety Antonio Allen, as I predicted in Round Three, is still available. And several BPAs are also available: receiver Juron Criner, tight end Ladarius Green and LB Josh Kaddu.

I asked Bob what he thought and we both agreed to take...

...WR Juron Criner

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I can hear the shrieks now.

Why on earth would Bob and I take another wide receiver over a cornerback or safety?

Bob's reasoning was simple: Criner is easily the Best Player Available. Bob had Criner as a third-round option in one of his mocks.

While I agree that Criner is easily the Best Player Available, I have another reason for this pick.

Almost everyone and their brother—if they are Bears fans—want an offensive line upgrade. In fact, we all want an offensive line upgrade more than we want a cornerback or safety upgrade.

The theory goes that "What good does it do to have all these receivers if we can't keep quarterback Jay Cutler upright?"

But there are two ways to keep Cutler upright.

One way—and the most obvious way—is to improve the offensive line. Despite what Lovie Smith recently said, the line isn't very good—particularly at left tackle.

The other way—the less obvious way—is to improve the offensive weapons.

New England, the New York Giants and Green Bay all have a below-average offensive line. Yet they all still put up Madden-like points on the board because of the number of talented receiving weapons for their quarterbacks.

And ultimately, winning games is about scoring more points than the other team.

On the other hand, the Bears receiving weapons—Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Devin Thomas, Dane Sanzenbacher, even Earl Bennett at times—haven't been very good. At least not good enough to string two good receiving games in a row.

And when the receivers aren't good enough to get open, the quarterback is forced to hold on to the ball longer.

And when the offensive line isn't very good, a quarterback who holds on to the ball longer is more likely to get sacked. Or killed.

Conversely, receivers who are good enough to consistently get open shorten the time that the line needs to pass protect.

So if Bob and I don't agree on the offensive tackles in the draft to improve the team, the other way to help both Cutler and the offensive line is to have a bevy of offensive playmakers for Cutler to unload the ball to.

The 6' 2" 220 lb. Juron Criner is just such a playmaker. Though he had a poor 40 time—4.63—scouts unanimously rave about Criner's football skills. He runs very crisp routes, has good hands and separates well from defenders.

Criner's hands, football skills and elite size give the Bears a third legit red zone weapon with Brandon Marshall and Rueben Randle. With this trio, along with Earl Bennett as the No. 4 receiver, Robbie Gould should mostly be coming onto the field to kick extra points rather than field goals.

Aside from a very solid season, Criner also outplayed all the cornerbacks who tried to cover him at the Senior Bowl, routinely beating guys like Ryan Steed and DeQuan Menzie.

Janoris Jenkins did cover him well on one play at the Senior Bowl but that was one play on an otherwise uncoverable day for Criner. Furthermore, Criner as the third Bears receiver on the field will likely face lesser-quality defensive backs.

Adding Brandon Marshall brought the Bears offense into the 20th century. Adding Rueben Randle in this draft brings the Bears offense into the 21st century. Adding Juron Criner along with Randle makes it elite.

With Marshall, Randle and Criner on the field, at least one of them is certain to be open. And if defenses try to bring the heat on Cutler, they could get burned.

On the flip side, if defenses would rather put more defenders in the secondary rather than on the line, that will also incidentally give Cutler more time to throw.

As with the third round, we considered safety Antonio Allen. And we considered cornerbacks like Steed and Menzie. But we couldn't pass up the guy who routinely made terrific catches against Steed and Menzie.

And we couldn't pass up a guy who indirectly improves our offensive line, which is an area more important than cornerback or safety.

Consider that the New York Giants during the 2011 regular season had a below-average defense and that Green Bay and New England had the two worst defenses in the entire league. Yet those three teams have proven you can be perennial Super Bowl contenders even with really bad defenses—as long as you have an elite offense.

And the Bears defense, for all its individual holes, as a unit was not as bad as Green Bay or New England. For all the hand-wringing from Bears fans (including me) about the Bears defense, the unit actually was above-average last year.

That doesn't mean the Bears defense doesn't need upgrades. It just means it's not as dire as it seems.

So if Green Bay and New England can overcome bad defense with elite offense, what can the Bears do with an elite offense complementing an above-average defense?